Business | Entrepreneurship and Business Assistance Centers

State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)

The Ohio Development Services Agency received more than $55 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury for the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to encourage lending to small businesses. The Ohio Development Services Agency administers the following state-run financing programs utilizing SSBCI funds to help finance small businesses and manufacturers that are creditworthy, but are not receiving the financing they need from the private sector to expand and create jobs:

Collateral Enhancement Program (CEP). Provides lending institutions with cash collateral deposits to use as additional collateral for loans made to eligible for-profit small businesses.

Ohio Capital Access Program (OCAP). Provides financing to for-profit and nonprofit businesses that are having difficulty obtaining business loans through conventional underwriting standards. OCAP supports small business lending by establishing a loan "guarantee" reserve pool at a lending institution that participates in the OCAP. The reserve pool is available to the participating Lender for recovery of any losses on any loan they have enrolled in the OCAP.

Targeted Investment Program (TIP). Supports the growth and expansion of targeted small businesses within Ohio's manufacturing, technology, and logistics industries. TIP targets small businesses that have received first or second round equity funding and offers debt financing tailored to the specific needs of the company at or below market interest rates.